Medications

Resources

Resources for:

Your Doctor’s Visit

Questions to Ask about Your Medicines: It's important to know as much as possible about the medicines you're taking. Here are some examples of questions you might ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Decisions about Medicines: Decision Points are designed to guide you through key health decisions, combining medical information with your personal values to make a wise health decision.

Prevent Medical Errors with Medicine: How to use medicines can be confusing, especially if you are using a lot of medicines. You need to keep track of when and how to take them, and prescriptions and labels are not always easy to understand.

Taking Your Medicines Safely

What is on a prescription label? There is important information on a prescription label. Knowing what the information means can help you know which medicine you are taking and how to take it properly.

Taking Medicines as Prescribed: Medicine is one of the many tools your doctor has to treat a health problem. Taking medicine as your doctor suggests will improve your health and may prevent future problems.

Non-Prescription Medicines and Products: A non-prescription medicine—sometimes called an over-the-counter, or OTC, medicine—is any drug that you can buy without a doctor's prescription. These drugs can interact with other medicines and can sometimes cause serious health problems. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor if you have questions about selecting an OTC medicine.

Video: Preventing Falls – Medicine Safety: As you get older your body can become more sensitive to medicine and that can cause side effects like feeling dizzy or drowsy, which can make you fall.

​Monitoring Your Medicines

Keeping Track of Medicines: It can be hard to keep track of when and how to take medicines. Here are some ideas you can use to stay organized and track your medicines.

Video: Managing Your Medicines: When you have a health condition, understanding all the medicines you take is an important part of your treatment plan.

Monitoring Your Medicines: Your doctor may want you to have tests to be sure that the medicine isn't harming you and that you're getting the right dose.

This material is for information purposes only. It should not be used in place of medical advice, instruction, or treatment. If you have questions, talk with your doctor or appropriate healthcare provider. This information may be printed and distributed without permission for non-profit, education purposes. The content on this page may not be changed without consent of the author. Contact feedback@myhealth.alberta.ca.